More than just Pixar’s best, ‘Inside Out’ is a new animation masterpiece

“Inside Out” isn't just Pixar Animation Studios' best film to date, it's one of the best films of the 21st century. That's a big bite, I know, but that's where I was left after the emotional, mature, brilliantly examining and creative experience of the movie. It is the project that most completely reflects the studio's tenets of refined storytelling and entertainment, a mission statement so often repeated as to flirt with the platitudinous. Yet “Inside Out” reminds you how real it is, how powerful cinema can be and how profoundly it can explore, reflect and express the human condition. This is why we project images in dark rooms, to achieve heights such as these.

I could tell nearly a year ago, at a special footage presentation for the film in Los Angeles, that if “Inside Out” was going to be a success, it would be because of deep personal beginnings. Director Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.,” “Up”) confided at the time that witnessing his daughter's inevitable emotional shift as she veered toward adolescence left him, as a parent, mourning the loss of her joyful youth. He wanted to better understand the complexities of the emotions that were changing her, and the seeds of the film were born.

By now you're aware of the basic premise: the mind of Riley Anderson serves as the setting for the film. She's a young girl piloted by a quintet of central emotions: Anger (Lewis Black), who controls the valve of rage and justice; Disgust (Mindy Kaling), managing her tolerance for the undesirable; Fear (Bill Hader), keeping her out of danger; Sadness (Phyllis Smith), who despite being demure, has a pretty strong grip on Riley's sense of the world; and Joy (Amy Poehler), delighting in the day-to-day operation of creating and managing Riley's memories and particularly making pleasant new ones.

That's really just the set-up, though, for a whole wonderland Docter and his writers have concocted. You can really sense the director's journey through this film in understanding his daughter better. You're able to witness an artist using the tools at his disposal to connect with something in his life, and that's what makes it so utterly powerful. I was a blubbering mess when the credits rolled, and not because of anything so simplistic as sadness or just generally being moved. It was how expertly and empathetically the story examined its central character. The title could not be more apt. This is an experience of revelation, in no uncertain terms – and they made it look easy!

Now, this is also the kind of film that should (keyword) benefit by a move to an expanded Best Picture field. But since the 2009 Oscars paradigm shift, outside of “Up” and “Toy Story 3” – two of Pixar's absolute finest achievements – no other animated feature has managed the feat. I imagine Disney will be hopeful as ever, though, because to be fair, nothing that couldn't easily be ghettoized in the Academy's animation-specific category has announced itself in the Oscar fray like this in a few years.

But here's what I propose. Let's finally break that barrier for directors, too. If filmmakers are honest with themselves, they'll understand that “Inside Out” is as definitive a directorial accomplishment as you're likely to see. The Pixar trust, of course – the story group and collective of hard-working artists within – might serve as the “auteur” for these works, but with films like “Monsters, Inc.” and “Up,” Docter has proved himself perhaps the most talented asset in the company. His work simply transcends in how it relates to audiences, and every new achievement has been as exceptional if not more so than the last. His credentials speak for themselves, and “Inside Out” is a showcase beyond them.

So, while the usual conversations will rightly be had around the Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture categories, let's be serious. This is what a masterpiece looks like.

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I believe I saw it in 2D. In general, my answer to that question is always gonna be 2D.

By: djr12

06.22.2015 @ 2:17 PM

I saw it in 3D but I tend to think most films the 3D is an afterthought rather than important (rare exception: “Gravity”) — and that holds true here. I didn’t feel like the 3D added a ton.

By: HitFix User

06.15.2015 @ 5:43 PM

It’s absolutely one of the best films of the year. It didn’t register as the top effort in their oeuvre for me, but I’m definitely eager to see it again. Wise and moving in so many ways. It made me think of Pixar’s past triumphs as those memory orbs to be stored in the permanent section, markers that help define my moviegoing experience. And with Inside Out, they’ve added another Happy orb.

By: Sarah

06.15.2015 @ 11:38 PM

I’m seeing an advance screening tomorrow, and I have just one question: do the trailers/clips that Pixar has released not do the finished project justice? Because from what I’ve seen this doesn’t “seem” like a tearjerking masterpiece… which in turn is making me more and more excited to see it. So is the marketing just being misleading?

By: HitFix User

06.16.2015 @ 1:14 PM

I don’t think the marketing for any Pixar film screamed masterpiece. Don’t worry about it. It’s a gem.

By: crossie

06.15.2015 @ 11:48 PM

The trailers really turned me off for a while; basically, a pretty bare minimum newspaper comic strip level “women are like this, men are like this” joke. That, and I just never really liked anything Pixar’s done outside of the “Toy Story” movies. I think there’s an aspect of there story production, that while it does polish the movies to a near universally praised degree, well, sometimes polishes the life out of them (not to mention that it sometimes makes the directors interchangeable cogs in a machine).

That being said, as far as Best Picture is concerned, sure, why not? I’ve got my Pixar reservations, but every animated BP nomination is one step closer to an animated BP, period.

Also, it looks like this is the year Pixar finally gets two nominees in the Animated Feature category; “The Good Dinosaur” sounds like an absolute disaster behind the scenes, but its been a weak year, and even I wouldn’t object to a sort of “career nomination” for “The Good Dinosaur” so that Pixar gets to join the double nominee club.

By: mmcb105

06.17.2015 @ 9:42 PM

If its a behind the scenes disaster like Ratatouille or Toy Story 2, then I say bring it on.

By: crossie

06.18.2015 @ 12:13 AM

They fired Dug the dog, man.

They fired Dug.

By: crossie

06.18.2015 @ 12:14 AM

Also, John Lithgow, but mostly Dug.

By: HitFix User

06.16.2015 @ 5:15 PM

Just a warning guys: the short that plays before “Inside Out” is truly terrible. Shockingly bad. In fact, I’d step out for 2-3mins just to avoid having the whole experience tainted by it.

By: mmcb105

06.17.2015 @ 9:41 PM

Interesting. Most of the reviews I’ve read said it was charming.

By: JJ1

06.19.2015 @ 11:45 PM

Yeah I don’t know how to feel about it. Its beautiful. Its interesting. But I don’t know that I exactly “liked” it. A weird one.

By: Jasmine

06.20.2015 @ 5:46 AM

Marc R – completely agree. It started off cute/funny and became boring/strange… I was in a packed theatre and you could cut through the tension with a knife. People were obviously not responding…

By: M T

06.17.2015 @ 6:43 PM

Saw this at Cannes, cried and laughed a lot. A very unique viewing experience for me!

By: inmypjs69

06.19.2015 @ 10:22 PM

My favorite is the Incredibles and it’s disappointing that they have only decided to make a sequel after decades!

By: American Jedi

06.23.2015 @ 3:02 AM

I can’t agree that it was Pixar’s best. I’d rank it behind Nemo, Monsters Inc. and Toy Story 3. But Kris and I apparently have different tastes in animated films because he had a hard on for the ages over How to Train Your Dragon 2, a movie that was good-ish but nowhere near as great as he thought it was.

By: Nelson

06.23.2015 @ 7:16 AM

Kris I would venture a different category where this film ought to show up and that’s Production Design. I believe I learned from your site that Animated films are technically qualified to be nominated, and even though all animation offers a lush visual world, if ever a film were to be recognized for it this would be it. The level of detail that went into realizing the various workings of the brain without ever seeming too bizarre or unable to be processed is simply spectacular. Pixar’s world building has never been better or more original, and any basic psychological understanding would verify how much research went into brain functions. I’m all for celebrating this movie, and would love to see it in the PD category.

By: Bob

07.07.2015 @ 4:45 PM

Am I the only one who was put off by the fact that Reilly is basically a spoiled brat? She comes from a two-parent home (a rarity these days) where both her mother and father dote on her constantly, lives in San Francisco (San Francisco! I would give my right arm) and as far as I can see has no other problems outside of adjusting to a new school. I remember what it was like to be a kid, how difficult these transitions seemed, but aren’t these problems too white, upper-middle class to be broadly relatable? Yes, I got a lump in my throat and yes, the movie is very good. But Pixar’s best? Not to my eyes.

By: Krolin10

07.08.2015 @ 3:09 AM

Yes, Bob, you are the only one that thought that. The rest of us are capable of empathy.